


Signed, Smudged, Delivered

by lincyclopedia



Category: Carry On Series - Rainbow Rowell, Simon Snow & Related Fandoms
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, M/M, POV Third Person, POV Third Person Limited, POV Tyrannus Basilton "Baz" Pitch, Present Tense, Texting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-12
Updated: 2020-07-12
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:07:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25225093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lincyclopedia/pseuds/lincyclopedia
Summary: Baz gets a guy’s number at a bar, but the last two digits are smudged by the time Baz tries to text him. Somehow he winds up texting his old roommate Simon instead.
Relationships: Tyrannus Basilton "Baz" Pitch/Simon Snow
Comments: 20
Kudos: 152
Collections: Carry_On_Summer_Exchange_2020





	Signed, Smudged, Delivered

**Author's Note:**

  * For [pastelPansies](https://archiveofourown.org/users/pastelPansies/gifts).



Baz enters the smudged number scrawled on his hand in pen into his phone, squinting at it as he does so. Is the last digit a five or a six? And the one before that—is it a four or a nine? Who closes their fours these days, anyway? Probably a nine. Okay, assuming he’s read the number correctly, it’s in his phone now. _Hi, it’s Baz from last night_ , he texts. 

It’s a few hours before he gets a response, and then his phone buzzes: i wasnt out last night, sorry. think u have the wrong number

Baz thinks about arguing, but honestly he wasn’t sure about either of the last two digits on this number, so the person responding could totally be right, and not just lying to get out of talking to him. Before Baz can decide to try using a four as the penultimate digit in the phone number, though, the person texts again: i had a roommate named baz for a while. what r the odds?

_Slim, but not too slim,_ Baz replies. _I’ve met at least two other men named Baz in my life._ Then he realises that he’s literally texting a stranger, and he wonders what possessed him to reply. 

my roommate was a git. i bet ur nicer than him

_I’m delightful_ , Baz replies before he can stop himself. 

so delightful that someone gave you the wrong number at a bar?

_It was SMUDGED. I couldn’t tell what the last two digits were for sure, so I guessed._

lol im just teasing you. im sure ur delightful

_THAT sounds like teasing._

maybe a little. but like srsly. i bet ur great

_You’re very kind._

i know. thats why u should keep talking to me

_Why would I do that? You’re a stranger._

bcos im very kind. and bcos my best mate just moved to america to be with her boyfriend and im short of people to talk to in this time zone

_How do you know we’re in the same time zone?_

we have the same area code

Baz resists the urge to slap himself in the forehead. _I could have moved,_ he insists. 

but then u wouldve gotten a new phone number

_Maybe, maybe not._

my best mate just got a new phone number when she moved to america

_Anecdotal evidence proves nothing._

wow ur a prat

_I thought we agreed I’m delightful._

that was before u started talking like a prat

Baz rolls his eyes and puts his phone away. He has a paper to finish. He doesn’t need to continue this conversation with this chatty stranger, especially not if the person’s just going to insult him. 

Five minutes later, his phone buzzes again. u know i didnt mean that, right? ur going to need to learn when im teasing you

_Why would I need to learn that?_

bcos were going to be friends!

_No we’re not._

u wouldnt have responded this many times if u werent lonely too

Baz rubs his eyes. This stranger has him there. _I don’t know the first thing about you._

ok, well, my name is simon and im 21 years old

What are the fucking odds, Baz wonders distantly as his stomach drops. This isn’t a guarantee it’s the same Simon he lived with at school, but how many 21-year-old Simons had roommates named Baz at school? Probably only one. Fuck. 

Baz doesn’t realize a few minutes have passed until his phone buzzes again. baz? u ok?

_I think I know you_ , Baz replies. 

It’s another two minutes before Simon writes back, oh. r u baz pitch?

_Yes._

oh.

And Baz doesn’t know what to do with that, but he knows he’s spent years trying to get bronze curls and blue eyes and golden, freckled skin out of his head, years stalking Simon across Facebook and Instagram without ever friending or following him, years regretting punches thrown and words hurled and that one fight when he shoved Simon down the stairs. So he starts typing, and in fits and starts he produces a paragraph: 

_Simon, I don’t know if you want to hear this or if you’re even going to read this text, but I’m so, so sorry for how I treated you at school. I was a bully and I hurt you over and over again. It’s no excuse, but I did it because I had a crush on you and I knew it wasn’t safe for me to come out because my father would never approve, and I didn’t know how to handle my feelings. But like I said, that’s no excuse. What I did was wrong, plain and simple, and I shouldn’t have punched you or called you names or made fun of you or pushed you down the stairs. I’m sorry. You don’t have to forgive me but you deserve an apology._

Baz can’t focus on anything after he sends the text, and he doesn’t know if it’s seconds or hours before he gets a response, but eventually one comes in: that must have been really hard

Tone is hard to read over text. Simon’s probably mocking him, but the chance that he might be serious is enough to make Baz’s stomach twist. He isn’t sure which possibility to respond to, so he just says, _Like I said, I’m sorry._

it was a long time ago. and coming out is hard enough even when everyone supports u

Baz’s heart rate speeds up involuntarily. _Do you have experience coming out?_

yep, realised im bi a couple years ago

Holy absolute fuck, Baz thinks. _Good for you. (I know tone is hard over text but I do mean that sincerely.)_

thanks!

Baz knows he should leave it alone, but he has to ask: _Are we just going to ignore the fact that I made your life hell for eight years?_

do u have a better idea?

_Simon, you should hate me._

it was a long time ago. we were kids

_Exactly! Which is another reason you deserved to be treated better!_

so did u, tho

Baz is bewildered. _By whom?_

ur father, first of all. and me, honestly. i know u started it but i was a git to u too

_Simon, no. I deserved what you did to me and more. Maybe I deserved better from my father, but that has nothing to do with you._

if u say so

_Thank you for letting me apologize. I’ll stop bothering you now._

ill leave u alone if u want, but u werent bothering me. if anything, i was bothering u

_Never, Simon._

u mean that?

_Yes._

baz, would u like to get coffee sometime?

Baz does a double-take, but the words remain on his screen. He asks, _Did you just ask me out?_

u can say no

_I’m saying yes._


End file.
